Government has revealed plans to improve the quality and standard of Uganda’s Maize following a recent threat from the Kenyan government to ban importation of the staple grain citing high levels of aflatoxin.
Yesterday, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, the National Planning Authority, Uganda National Bureau of Standards- UNBS, Operation Wealth Creation-OWC and National Agricultural Advisory Services-NAADS held a dialogue at the office of the President.
In the meeting chaired by the State
Minister for Economic Monitoring, Molly Kamukama, the officials discussed how
to jointly improve the quality and standard of maize.
It has been agreed that government uses extension workers to sensitize farmers
about better farming practices from planting, pest management, harvesting and
storage.
Government shall also use the media to spread the information as required.
The meeting further agreed to have more silos with dryers and cleaners established across the country to promote better storage of maize. Much of Uganda’s maize is said to be contaminated at harvest and storage stages.
The Executive Director of NAADS, Dr. Samuel Mugasi says while Uganda produces over five million metric tons of maize, the storage capacity is for only one million metric tons.
He adds that government should register and license maize traders so that only those who fulfill certain conditions like having a quality store are permitted to trade in maize. Dr. Mugasi on License;…
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